SPELLING: Week of March 23rd

This week's patterns:

Closed Prefixes (prefix ends with a consonant)
un-, im-, in-, mis-, dis- (all meaning "not" or "opposite" of base word)

Open Prefixes (prefix ends with a vowel)
re- (meaning "again"), pre- (meaning "before")

Here is our list:

1. unafraid
2. unintentional
3. imperfect
4. impolite
5. inactive
6. incomplete
7. mislead
8. mispronounce
9. distrust
10. dismount

11. repaint
12. renumber
13. rebound
14. preschool
15. prepaid 
16. pretest

Watch Out Words
17. vein  (like a blood vessel)
18. vain  (only worried about looks)
19. vane  (like a weather vane)

SPELLING: Week of March 16th

This week's patterns:

-tial
-cious
-tious

Here is our list:

1. spatial
2. initial
3. partial
4. essential
5. potential

6. delicious
7. precious
8. suspicious
9. spacious
10. vicious

11. cautious
12. nutritious
13. superstitious


Watch Out Words
14. knew
15. new
16. pour (like you pour some water)
17. pore (tiny opening in your skin)

SPELLING: Week of March 9th

This week's patterns:

'qua'
'y' as /i/
'cial'

Here is our list:

1. quacks
2. quality
3. quart
4. quadrangle
5. quantity

6. gym
7. symbol
8. myth
9. crystal
10. system
11. mystery

12. social
13. facial
14. special
15. glacial
16. crucial

Watch Out Words
17. sore (ouch!)
18. soar (fly!)
19. whether
20. weather (rain...)

Book Club Revolution!

So a few of our boys found several copies of a book in the library today. They decided to each check-out a copy and start their own book club. (Ahh, music to a teacher's ears, right?)

I invited them to use a round of Daily 5 every few days to meet together to talk about their book. They were pretty excited, to say the least. When I let the rest of the class know about the book club the boys had started, the idea spread like wildfire!

Many students used a Daily 5 today to organize a book club of their own. Currently, we have three different book clubs, reading three different books, and several more students thinking about starting one this week.

As a class, we took a few minutes to set up some "ground rules," because while book clubs are fun and a powerful way to improve as a reader and learn from other readers, there are some stumbling blocks that can get in the way sometimes. Here are some of the things we decided on:

• It's a commitment. If you decide to join a book club, you are committing to read the book. Think carefully about your interest-level in the book before making the commitment.
• You don't have to be in a book club.
• It's not just a club. We must be extremely careful that people don't feel excluded, but also recognize that book clubs are normally rather small, 4-6 people usually.
• Set up a schedule.  Make sure the group knows what to read and when.
• Meet once or twice a week to talk about what's happening in the book.

Wow, it's an exciting time to be a third grader. Have your child let me know if he/she wants to be part of a book club, and I'll help to get one set up!

Book-Clubbers... UNITE!

Wear Red on Friday

Students are invited to wear read on Friday to help support Riley Hospital. Here's a message from Jennifer Schwab (CCS Community Liason), with the details:

"Each year, our schools participate in fundraising campaigns that benefit some wonderful charities and we are so proud of all the wonderful work our students, staff and families do to support this giving-back effort. 

On Friday, February 13, we wanted to invite your school to participate in “Wear Red for Riley Day,” and help raise funds, as a district, to benefit Riley Hospital for Children in support of the CHS Dance Marathon. 

Students and staff participating would pay a dollar (or a donation of their choice) to wear Red for the day to support Riley Hospital for Children."

SPELLING: Week of February 9th

This week's patterns:

'eu'
'ch' (tricky sounds: /k/ and /sh/
'ar' (when sounding like /er/)

Here is our list:

1. neutral
2. sleuth
3. maneuver
4. feud

5. school
6. scheme
7. chord
8. chorus
9. orchid

10. chef
11. chaperone

12. pillar
13. cellar
14. burglar
15. regular
16. popular
17. poplar

SPELLING: Week of February 2nd

This week's patterns:

'augh' (usually followed by 't')
'gn' (begins or ends a word)
'ei'

Here is our list:

1. caught
2. taught
3. naughty
4. daughter

5. gnaw
6. sign
7. align
8. assignment
9. gnat

10. either
11. weird
12. protein
13. vein
14. reindeer


Watch Out Words
15. woman
16. women
17. lose
18. loose 
19. where
20. were